Reinholz said he thinks the event is a good way for children to interact with police in a positive, playful way, rather than when something bad happens.

"They usually only talk to us when they're in trouble," he said.

Now in its fourth year, Ashland's "Shop with a Cop" program was started by Sgt. Warren Hensman, a former Las Vegas Metro police officer. Hensman said he didn't get enough of an opportunity to participate in a similar program in Las Vegas, and decided to create his own event here.

"Our community involvement here is huge," said Hensman, who knew the event would go over well with Ashland.

Hensman said Walmart donated $1,000 toward the event, and the rest was raised by staff, with a final boost from Police Chief Terry Holderness — bumping the gift cards up to $100 for each child or family that participated.

"It's pretty neat. They're going crazy," said Cody Lewis, looking over a full shopping cart that his children, Paige and Haiden, had nearly filled just a few minutes into their shopping trip.

Paige, 5, attends Ashland Head Start, and picked out a stuffed animal dog and a sword, which she used to playfully chase after Officer Matt Caswell after checking out.

"It's awesome. It's a lot of fun for us to go shopping with the kids," said Caswell.

Paige settled for a dog because she couldn't find a toy wolf like she wanted, and her younger brother Haiden, 3, picked out a few new sets of Hot Wheels cars before the family headed home.

Back in the toy department, 10-year-old Gavin Allen, Aden's brother, peered into his sibling's cart to compare loot before the two made their final decisions. Both brothers had picked out remote controlled helicopters and football gloves, and Gavin had also added a Street Boss scooter and a helmet.

"He said he would buy me the helmet," said Gavin, pointing to Officer Scott Wenzel. "Just to be safe."

Teresa Ristow is a freelance writer living in Ashland. Reach her at teresa.ristow@gmail.com.